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Archive for the ‘Stash Reports 2009’ Category

Plans for the Turquoise (Week 52 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , on December 27, 2009| 8 Comments »

This turquoise quilt is going to be a present for my older daughter’s 19th birthday in March.  When she was a little girl, this was her favourite colour, and several of these cotton fabrics are scraps from sundresses and shorts outfits that I made for her.   I hope it will bring her many happy memories.  🙂

I’ve been admiring this pretty 9-patch quilt at Crazy Mom Quilts blog for a while now.  I love the white sashings, so crisp and neat-looking, with her colourful 9-patch blocks.  And it’s very inspirational!

So, here is my version of that look with my turquoise blocks.  They aren’t sewed into the sashings yet — the blocks are only laid out on a small piece of white muslin to get the effect and give me an idea of how they will look.  I think it’s exactly what I want.

I will need to buy a couple of yards of snow white muslin to finish this project — but I haven’t bought any fabric yet!  I am still being good for my last Stash Report of 2009.  But when 2010 comes…well, maybe I will need a little shopping trip — or two!

My final stats for the year are:

  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875 yards
  • Used Year-to-Date:  149.875 yards
  • Used (net):  125 yards

Happy Quilting!

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Resisting Temptation (Week 51 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , on December 20, 2009| 6 Comments »

I really thought I was going to buy some fabric this week.  I was even planning the fine details of my shopping trip, like — which shop, how many yards, and what colours.  But then I didn’t go.  I don’t know why.

It was very helpful that it snowed Thursday and Friday because I don’t like to drive in the snow.  But even before the weather changed, I was reconsidering my plans.

I think that these stash reports have done me a world of good.  Now I am thinking carefully about my purchases, and the idea of just buying fabric for the fun of it has lost its appeal for me.   When I really, truly need something to finish a project…I’ll go shopping then.

I haven’t been sewing this week, either, so no change in my stats:

  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875 yards
  • Used Year-to-Date:  149.875 yards
  • Used (net):  125 yards

Please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times, to see how other quilters are doing with stash busting this week.

Happy Quilting!

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Pillowcases for Christmas (Week 50 Stash Report)

Posted in Sewing, Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , , on December 13, 2009| 5 Comments »

This week I’ve been sewing 18 pillowcases for Christmas gifts for family members — everyone is getting two pillowcases each because I had lots of fabric!

I used two of my all-time favourite fabrics, which I have been saving for a “worthy purpose” like this.    🙂

Ribbons…

and Cute Chairs…

I’m not sure where I bought these fabrics, but they came with me from America when I moved to England in 1997!  Vintage, I call that.   😉

Here are my two favourite pillowcase patterns:

1.  Mary Johnson’s great pattern with a step-by-step tutorial, which has all enclosed seams and is very good when you have larger pieces of fabric;  and

2. Mary Lou Weidman’s pattern at the Benartex website, Bee Happy Pillowcases, which works well with smaller pieces of fabric and looks fine with overcast or serged seams.

Here’s my stash report for Week 50:

Bought this week:  0
Used this week:  20.25
Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
Used Year-to-Date:  149.875
Net Used: 125

Is this naughty?  I’m thinking that since I’ve reached my goal and exceeded it a little bit, I could even buy some new fabric before the end of the year without getting myself in too much trouble.  My stash of neutrals and backgrounds could use a boost.

To see how others are progressing with Stashbusting this week, please visit Judy’s blog.

Happy Quilting!

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Empty Spools (Week 49 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , on December 6, 2009| 9 Comments »

It’s too bad we don’t count thread usage in our Stash Report.  Look how many spools I emptied from my thread stash while making all those cloth shopping bags!

Our PTA Christmas Fair was great!  I set some of the bags out on a long table and displayed others on a coat rack.  They looked really cute hanging up and attracted a lot of attention.  I sold almost all of my bags, and the fastest sellers were the ones made with very bright fabrics and cute dog and cat prints.  This was a very good fund-raising activity!

Stash Report for Week 49 (6 Dec 2009)

Bought this week:  0
Used this week:  9.125 (for bags)
Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
Used Year-to-Date:  129.625
Net Used: 104.75

And now I’ve met my goal of using 100 yards (net) of fabric this year!    Thank goodness for the bags project.   That has helped a lot!

Please visit Judy’s blog if you would like to see how other quilters are doing with stashbusting this week.

Happy Quilting!

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More Shopping Bags (Stash Report Week 48)

Posted in Sewing, Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , , , on November 29, 2009| 6 Comments »

This week I have been sewing more shopping bags for the Christmas fair at my daughter’s school.

This is a great stash-busting project!  I am only using new fabric from my stash, and I’m absolutely flying through the yardage!  What fun!  And I have discovered that my “what was I thinking when I bought that” fabrics are making the very cutest bags!  🙂

I’ve been trying out some different patterns for variety, but my favourite for “quick and easy” sewing is this free pattern from Morsbags.  Tipnut blog also has a list of 35 free bag patterns.

Stash Report for Week 48

Bought this week:  0
Used this week:  28.125
Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
Used Year-to-Date:  120.5
Net Used:  95.625

Please visit Judy’s blog to see how others are getting along with their stash busting this week.

Happy Quilting!

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Hoffman Challenge from the past (Week 47 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , on November 22, 2009| 12 Comments »

I didn’t buy any fabric from the shops this week, but I have been shopping in my stash.

This is my favourite-ever fabric, and my very first “expensive” quilt fabric.  It’s “Kaleidoscope,” the Hoffman Challenge fabric from 1997.  The Hoffman company still has the information on their website.

I’ve been collecting companion fabrics for years, just waiting for “the moment.”

My #1 Goal for 2010 is to make a quilt using this fabric.  I’ve always been afraid to cut it.  What if my “most gorgeous” fabric ended up in an awful quilt?  Well, I think my self-confidence has grown enough now to try it.  The moment has come.  🙂

My Stash Report totals are the same — I’m in the Positive column, with 67.5 yards used.

Please visit Judy Laquidara’s blog to see other quilters’ Stash Reports this week.

Happy Sewing!

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Restoration Project (Week 46 Stash Report)

Posted in Sewing machines, Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , on November 15, 2009| 3 Comments »

I didn’t buy any fabric this week, but I did buy another vintage Singer sewing machine.  This one is a Model 27K, one of a group of 100,000 manufactured between January and June 1908, at the Kilbowie Factory in Clydebank, Scotland.

Singer 27K

She used to be either a treadle or a hand-crank, but she’s been converted to electricity with a little white motor on the back.  The electrics look a bit dodgy and the cord is frayed, so that will have to go.

At the moment, the machine is sitting in a treadle table, but the cast iron treadle mechanism has been removed which causes the table to be rickety and unstable.  I don’t think this was her original table, anyway — she doesn’t fit exactly right.  The top opening is much too wide for her base, and on the interior of the cabinet, several notches and slots have been sawed into the wood to fit her shape when she is folded down.

Luckily, her shuttle and several bobbins were included, along with a complete assortment of feet and attachments.  She also has her original instruction book and both slide plates.

So!  This is will be a wonderful project for an amateur sewing machine restorer like me.  First I’ll clean her up and then think about how to proceed from there.  Someday she will be a thing of beauty again, and we will make quilts together.  🙂

My Stash Report totals this week are unchanged.  Next week I need to get busy sewing if I’m going to make that 100 yard goal!

  • Bought this week: 0
  • Used this week:  0
  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
  • Used Year-to-Date:  92.375
  • Net Used:  67.5 yards

Happy Sewing!

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Freeze Frame Finish (Week 45 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , , , on November 8, 2009| 11 Comments »

A finish, a finish, I finally have a finish!   🙂

Here is my version of  “Freeze Frame”, a Quilt for an Hour pattern designed by Judy Laquidara.

Freeze Frame Complete

Here’s a better look at some of the fabrics used in the quilt.

Freeze Frame fabrics

I am estimating that I used 7 yards of fabric for this quilt top, calculating from the fabric requirements given in the pattern and counting the fat quarters that I used for the squares.

I loved making this quilt, and I am already thinking of another version in other colours!

My Stash Report totals for Week 45 are:

  • Bought this week:  0
  • Used this week:  7 yards
  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
  • Used Year-to-Date:  92.375
  • Net Used:  67.5 yards

To see Stash Reports by other quilters and to find the pattern for “Freeze Frame”, please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times.

Happy Sewing!

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Panic (Week 44 Stash Report)

Posted in Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , , , on November 1, 2009| 3 Comments »

What a shock when I realised this morning that there are only 8 weeks of Stash Reports left this year.  There are still so many unfinished projects on my To Do list for 2009!  I felt a surge of panic — because, silly me, I am always setting unrealistic goals for myself.

Then I took a deep breath and remembered that it’s not The End Of The World if I don’t get every single thing finished.  I’ll just do the best I can and try to remember that quilting is a hobby for me, and it’s supposed to be fun!

This week I have continued to work on “Freeze Frame,” Judy Laquidara’s Quilt for an Hour project.  I am about halfway through Hour 11.  The last step is Hour 12, so the finish line is in sight!  🙂

Freeze Frame 11

I haven’t finished anything this week, and I haven’t bought any fabric this week, so my totals remain:

  • Bought this week:  0
  • Used this week:  0
  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
  • Used Year-to-Date:  85.375
  • Net Used:  60.5 yards

Please visit Judy’s blog to see how others are doing with their Stashbusting this week.

Happy Sewing!

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Recycled Bath Mat (Week 43 Stash Report)

Posted in Nigel the quilting dog, Recycled Furnishings, Sewing machines, Stash Reports 2009, tagged , , , , , , , on October 25, 2009| 11 Comments »

I had a little bath mat that was looking kind of sad and threadbare.   I could have thrown it out or given it to the dogs, but I’m on this recycling kick lately, so I decided to make something with it.   It is now a “New and Improved” Bath Mat!

Here’s the mat in its original state, with assorted fabric strips from my scrap bin.

Mat1

Using the bath mat as a foundation, I started piecing the strips from the centre of the mat and worked out toward the edges, using the “flip and sew” method.

Mat-first strips

And I just kept going, adding more strips…..

Mat-more strips

…until the mat was totally covered.

Mat-strips sewn down

I was sewing through a very thick, looped cotton bath mat, so I used my strongest, most powerful sewing machine, my Janome 6500P.   This is the machine I use for quilting, and I could never say enough good things about it.  It’s a wonderful machine.  🙂

Mat-machine

Then I trimmed around the shape of the bath mat…

Mat-trimming around

…and it looked like this.  Nigel the dog was helping me again.  😉

Mat after trimming

I bound the edges with bias tape, and then it was done!  🙂

Mat-finished

This project used approximately 1/2 yard of fabric, so my Stash Report for Week 43 is:

  • Bought this week:  0
  • Used this week:  0.5 yard
  • Bought Year-to-Date:  24.875
  • Used Year-to-Date:  85.375
  • Net Used:  60.5 yards

Please visit Judy’s blog, Patchwork Times, to see how others are doing with stashbusting this week.

Happy Sewing!

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